Family Court Adviser (Social Worker) - Public Law - Exeter (covering some of Devon and Somerset)

We continue to closely monitor the situation surrounding the outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19) and are following official guidance from the government and the advice given by Public Health England. We are continuing to recruit but are adapting our timescales and processes to reflect the guidance and advice. Therefore, if we progress your application we will engage with you remotely, either by telephone and/or video call. ALL internal applicants are asked to upload current CV. You can also provide a 'Supporting Statement' as part of your application which may include some of the information you would normally include in the EOI As the largest employer of Social Workers in England, few organisations understand the challenges associated with the profession as well as Cafcass. And this insight allows us to provide our Social Workers the environment where they can work flexibly, proportionally and safely to deliver the best outcomes for children and families, and a healthy work/life balance for themselves. And these were just some of the factors that contributed to Ofsted giving us an 'outstanding' rating at our last inspection in 2018, just the 4th national organisation to receive this rating. Our Social Workers are called Family Court Advisers and we are recruiting for our teams based from Exeter covering some of Devon and Somerset , although we trust you to work flexibly whether this is in court, at home, in the office or of course, with children and families and provide the technology to enable this. We are currently recruiting for our Public Law Team who are involved with cases where the local authority has serious concerns about the safety or welfare of a child and the court requests for Cafcass to become involved in the case. The Cafcass Social Worker, often referred to as Children's Guardians , is typically involved with the child across an extended period carrying out relevant assessments to understand their needs, wants and feelings, and effectively communicate this to the court through a combination of written reports and giving evidence. Our work is demanding so for you to succeed and truly make a difference you should be someone who; * Is resilient and organised * Social Work England registered. * Can work proportionately * Has strong, intuitive IT skills * Is an effective verbal and written communicator We would also like to draw your attention that this role has been identified as suiting someone who has a full driving licence . This is because of the nature of the work undertaken, the geographical area involved, and that public transport is not considered a viable alternative. Should you join us, not only will you receive a competitive salary but a range of other benefits which we believe collectively makes for a market-leading offer. Further information is in the attached document as is the formal job description / person specification and other relevant information. To apply we have a simple application process and you can upload your current, up-to-date CV and provide a short supporting statement. We know how busy Social Workers are, so we'd like to give you some dates for your diary to help you understand the timescales we are working to: Last date for applications: 19/06/2020 Telephone interviews: (w/c) 01/07/2020 Final interview / assessment: (w/c) 14/07/2020 or 17/07/2020 These dates are subject to change but rest assured we will be in touch as quickly as we can. In the meantime, if you would like to informally find out about the role before deciding to apply, you are welcome to contact the Recruiting Manager by email advising of the best number to contact you on and most suitable time(s) (Vicki Whitehead/ ). However, please note we cannot accept applications / CVs by email and you must apply online but rest assured the process is quick and simple. Finally, if you want to find out a bit more about us why should consider joining us visit or if you wish to view all of our current vacancies, go to Current Cafcass Vacancies. We are committed to equality of opportunity for all staff and applications from individuals are encouraged regardless of age, disability, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and marriage and civil partnerships. We are also a Disability Confident Employer which further underlines our commitment to employ, train, retain and develop the careers of colleagues with disabilities. Please be advised successful applicants will be subject to a range of pre-engagement checks, including a Disclosure and Barring Service check (DBS). In accordance with the DBS code of practice and our own policy, should an individual have a declared criminal offence an individual assessment will be completed. Further information on what the assessment covers can be found by viewing the Cafcass DBS policy. Please note we may close this vacancy prior to the advertised closing date should we feel we have sufficient applications. Our app